The John C. Fremont Library

Teen Group: Build-a-Bot Olympics

Robin — Thu, 11 Mar 2010 19:46:51 +0000

Come create you’re own Bot at this weeks Teen Group. Once we have completed our creations they will compete in different events to see which Bot will dominate the Build-a-Bot Olympics.

New Moon Screening

Robin — Thu, 11 Mar 2010 19:40:54 +0000

Come join us for the screening of the newest movie in the Twilight saga to come to DVD! At Teen Group prior to the movie you can decorate your own cookies to snack on during the movie.

New Moon, the second in Stephenie Meyer’s blockbuster teen-fiction saga adapted for film, is stronger than its predecessor, Twilight. Director Chris Weitz (The Golden Compass), brings a lighter, more assured touch to the sequel, which continues the star-crossed love story of mortal Bella (Kristen Stewart) and vampire Edward (Robert Pattinson).

Teen Group: Decorating Cookies

Robin — Thu, 11 Mar 2010 19:30:54 +0000

This week we will be decorating cookies and watching videos of our year in teen group. After Teen Group we will be showing the Movie New Moon.

Friends Group Meeting: First Election & Bylaws Approval

Gypsy — Fri, 05 Mar 2010 18:21:33 +0000

The first official meeting of the “Friends of the John C. Fremont Library District” will be held on Thursday April 8th at 6:00 p.m. here at the library. The purpose of this meeting will be to elect a governing board and approve the proposed by-laws. Please Come help us launch this exciting new volunteer organization that will help our community raise money and host events that will help fund the wonderful programs we hold here and the possibility of an expansion project. We need a President, Vice President, Treasurer, and Secretary that can commit to 3 meetings a year and to serve as leaders and recruiters to build membership, host events, and most of all have fun! So whether you have only a few minutes or a lot of time on your hands, you can become a voting member of this group with your 20.00 membership fee and then its up to you how much time you put in. Please see our Freinds Membership page for more information, and come to the meeting on the 8th to voice your opinion. See you there!

-Gypsy Kelso, Director

Eat your vegetables!

Kieran — Thu, 04 Mar 2010 21:14:52 +0000

Kieran’s notes from the back room : With a nod of my hat to Mark Twain (meaning I am about to rework a quote from him. Yeah, sort of well intentioned plagiarism) reports of the death of libraries are greatly exaggerated. Library usage is on the rise here at the John C. and across the nation. Nope, neither those e-readers, nor Kindles, nor the Nook, have made paper book obsolete. Nor did the internet cause any dearth in information seeking people from coming through the doors of the local library. Matter of fact, the down turn in the economy has taken many libraries to such increases in business they can barely cope with it all. The unfortunate aspect of this equation is, with money getting tighter, people think cutting public funding will help them, individually, get through rough times. I mean, sure, I walk into register my car and I have to pay $70.00 and I think, “For what?!” According to the Bell Policy Center, on average in our area of Colorado, from my $70 – about $30 goes to the schools, $30 goes to city and county coffers, $6.00 goes to fire and ambulance and $4.00 goes to libraries. There is legislation coming up that would make the $70 a mere $1. Yup, sounds too good to be true doesn’t it… Of course, it is. This legislation means that libraries would get $0.06 and fire and ambulance would get $0.09 per car. Or, in overall terms, library funding would drop from and average in southern Colorado of $652,513 per year to $11,195. In Fremont County – well, specifically at the John C. Fremont Library District here in Florence – our annual revenue is less than half of the average for our area and in overall terms, this legislation would make our yearly income less than $8,000. It is even worse for the fire district and the schools. [And we know RE-2 is facing about a $700,000 budget cut next year regardless of Prop 101...gulp!] When paying a large bill, the long term affects of paying less is hard to think about. It is kind of like junk food. The immediate yummy might not pay off in the long run. So, even if cake looks better to you than broccoli, remember dear old mom reminding you to eat your veggies. And when you are done eating, we can put even more on your plate – starting with an art program for children ages 5 and up conducted by Mary Shell on Saturday, March 13th. Then on Thursday, March 18^th at 10:30 am there will be a reading and book discussion with author Carol Ann Wilson. Carol Ann Wilson will discuss her book, “Still Point of the Turning World: The Life of Gia-Fu Feng”. Carol inherited not only a Taoist hermitage in the Wet Mountains, but also 300 pages of the jumbled autobiographical writings of Gia-Fu Feng, and then spent the last thirteen years researching and writing his biography. So, come fill up on art and biography, or to say hi to me and talk about the food pyramid.

Stand Up and Be Counted

Gypsy — Fri, 26 Feb 2010 22:49:08 +0000

From Gypsy’s Corner: The counters are coming. What? New furniture you say? No. I mean representatives from the US Census Bureau are coming to your Library several days in March and April to host info and assistance sessions with the public. Why do we need to be counted by the government you ask? Well that’s a good question, and it turns out that a whole lot of people wonder the same thing. And so the folks in charge of all that counting want to be here (and all over the US), in person, to help you answer the 10 questions on the mail-out form. In theory it’s simple enough; they send out questionnaires to every household in the country, everyone answers the 10 questions regarding how many people live in their home, their names and ethnicity, and then they mail it back. The Census Bureau adds them all together and “voila!” we have an accurate count of how many people live in the U.S. and where. Why do they do it? Because, according to their official website , “A complete census count is needed to ensure that your community receives its fair share of federal funding. This funding includes resources for services, such as health care, education, and roads, as well as representation in the U.S. House of representatives.” And just to jazz it all up a bit there’s also a promotional campaign coming to help get people to respond. It’s called the “Take 10 for 10″ and involves a website where anyone can track the number of respondents in any county and compare it with others. So whether you are one of those people that eagerly awaits the questionnaire, fills it out and returns it the day you get it, or you are skeptical of its worth and intentions, I encourage you to find out all you can about the Census. The above website is a great place to start and feel free to visit with the Census Bureau representatives that will be in Florence soon.

The right tool for the right job.

Kieran — Thu, 25 Feb 2010 21:10:43 +0000

Kieran’s notes from the back room: Have you ever learned a trade or picked up a hobby because you wanted to use the fancy tool associated with it? (I want to use that neat wrench, I think I ‘ll become an auto mechanic!) Yeah, probably not – well maybe when you were ten years old. It’s more likely you found a whole bunch of neat shiny tools that you could use to do something you already had an interest in. (This wrench will help me when I have to change my oil, and because the new wrench is so neat and shiny I bet it will take half the time as normal!) The right tool for the right job can be a hard lesson to learn. (But the wrench…. it’s so shinny!) Which brings me to the John C.’s new website. (mmm…pretty… shiny) We have included some new functionality. (That’s nerd talk for it does new tricks.) So, being the proud new owner of a shiny new tool, we want to, not only show off the new tricks it does, but find out if we have included the trick you need. On the right side of the website, lower than middle down, you will see a few boxes listing the new items in the library. Yup, want to know what new DVDs we bought? This could be where you find your answer. As far as finding answers, there is also a big empty box on the top right side that says, “Ask the John C. Fremont Library”. Yup, it is a chat box. You can ask us questions from afar. Seriously, if you type in the box we will see it… and we will reply. (Well, sometimes it will say we aren’t there to ask, I mean, I love you and all, but I am not going to stay at work all day and all night, so think business hours with that one!) If you want an in-depth tour of the website, stop by the library and we will explore. If you want to give us your feed back or great ideas, come by or leave a comment on the website! Regardless of how neat and cool the website is, we are still hoping you will come in and see us (don’t forget me! – I am the guy stuck in the back room!) [What? "Where is the website?" , you ask. Ah. Check out - www.florencecolibrary.org]

Beginning Texting

Robin — Wed, 24 Feb 2010 19:35:44 +0000

Ever wondered how to send a Text Message or why you would ever want to send a text message. This will be the first ever Texting Class offered at the John C. Fremont Library. We will guide you through what texting is and then do some hands on training. Please bring your cell phone for we will not be providing them!

Call 719-784-4649 ext. 2 to register now.

Reading and Book Discussion With Author Carol Ann Wilson

cid — Tue, 23 Feb 2010 22:55:50 +0000

Carol Ann Wilson discusses her book, Still Point of the Turning World: The Life of Gia-Fu Feng. After the untimely death of her sister, who was Gia-fu’s heir, Carol inherited not only Stillpoint, Gia-fu’s Taoist hermitage in the Wet Mountains, but also his 300 pages of jumbled autobiographical writings. She has spent the last thirteen years researching and writing this biography of Gia-Fu Feng.

The Serendipity Peak Dulcimer Club Performance

cid — Tue, 23 Feb 2010 21:46:30 +0000